JARVIS, Lock Onto My Armor. I Don't Want to Hurt Anyone.

Xiao Han stood on the terrace of the Long Island villa as the night wind brushed past his black battle suit.

Wanda was already fast asleep in the bedroom. The magical necklace at her collarbone glimmered faintly, finally allowing her to escape the torment of nightmares.

"Turing," he called softly.

The AI butler's voice sounded warm. "Sir, what do you need?"

"Monitor Wanda's condition. If she wakes up, tell her I'm going out for a while."

"Understood, sir."

Xiao Han raised a hand. Golden magical energy glowed at his fingertips as he traced a perfect arc through the air.

Scorching golden sparks spun and spread, forming a portal that led to the sun.

Beyond the portal lay the roiling corona, golden plasma like a boiling ocean, radiating endless light and heat.

The Biofield automatically blocked everything, leaving only warm energy behind.

Just as he was about to step through, suddenly—

[Ding! Multiverse anomaly fluctuations detected!]

The system prompt sounded in his mind.

[Emergency mission issued: Prevent the Zombie Virus from spreading to other universes. Target world coordinates locked. Host, proceed immediately.]

Xiao Han frowned slightly. "Zombie Virus?"

The system offered no further explanation, merely projecting a fragmented scene into his field of vision.

A decaying Captain America tore into innocent civilians. Zombie Iron Man howled madly inside his armor. The entire world had fallen into a bloody apocalypse.

"..."

Xiao Han fell silent for a moment, then glanced back at the villa.

Wanda was still asleep. Her training had only just begun, but he had no time to waste.

"Turing, if Wanda asks, tell her I have an urgent matter to handle and tell her to keep practicing as planned."

"Recorded. I wish you success in your mission, sir."

Xiao Han no longer hesitated and opened another portal with a wave of his hand.

This time, the other side was no longer the scorching sun, but a gray, gloomy sky.

New York.

But it was utterly different from the one he knew.

Smoke filled the air, buildings had collapsed, and the streets were streaked with blood.

He stepped through. The moment the portal closed behind him, the stench of rotting blood rushed at his face.

"Roar!!!"

On the street below, a group of zombies were frantically tearing apart a mutilated corpse.

Farther away, a red-and-blue figure swung between skyscrapers. It was Spider-Man, but his suit was tattered, half his face had already rotted away, and beneath the white eye lenses were a pair of scarlet eyes.

"Interesting." Xiao Han looked intrigued.

"The Zombie Universe."

He hovered high in the air, his Super-Sight instantly scanning the entire city.

Stark Tower still stood in the distance, but the Arc Reactor at its peak had gone dark, and its glass curtain walls were shattered beyond recognition.

Inside the tower, a faint energy signal caught his attention.

"JARVIS?"

Without hesitation, Xiao Han accelerated in an instant, transforming into a streak of black light as he shot toward Stark Tower.

The mission had officially begun.

Xiao Han hovered outside the top-floor laboratory of Stark Tower, looking inside through the shattered window.

The laboratory was a complete mess. All kinds of equipment lay scattered across the floor, and dried blood stained the walls.

At the center of the lab, a modified Mark 43 armor was firmly restrained by dozens of mechanical arms. A beastlike growl came from within the armor.

"Unknown life-form detected."

JARVIS's voice suddenly came from the laboratory speakers. "Abnormal energy signature. No matching record in the database."

Xiao Han slowly descended into the laboratory, his black combat boots crunching crisply over broken glass.

"I'm Xiao Han, from another universe."

Hearing the movement, Zombie Tony abruptly looked up. His faceplate opened automatically, revealing a half-rotted face.

He struggled wildly, and the mechanical arms creaked under the strain.

"Another... universe?" JARVIS's voice carried obvious hesitation.

"This... explains many anomalous readings."

Xiao Han walked to the main console and lightly touched the holographic display. Streams of data immediately unfolded before his eyes.

"Tell me what happened," Xiao Han said in a low voice.

JARVIS brought up a holographic recording. "Three months ago, Mr. Fantastic suffered an accident while conducting a quantum channel experiment and released an unknown virus. Mr. Reed was infected first, followed by his family."

In the footage, the members of the Fantastic Four mutated one after another, attacking the Avengers who had come to assist them.

Captain America, Hawkeye, and Black Widow fell one after another, then rose to their feet again—only in another form.

"After Mr. Stark was bitten, he immediately activated the quarantine protocol," JARVIS continued.

"He modified the armor and instructed me to lock him here permanently. For the past eighty-seven days, he has been fighting the virus."

Xiao Han looked at Tony inside the armor. There was still a trace of familiar expression on that rotting face.

Suddenly, Zombie Tony let out a hoarse growl. "Kill... me..."

JARVIS immediately reinforced the restraints. "Sir, please don't do this!"

Xiao Han was silent for a moment, then asked, "Other survivors?"

"According to the latest scans, there may still be a small number of humans hiding in underground facilities," JARVIS replied.

"But nearly all the superheroes have transformed. The most dangerous is Zombie Hulk. He has destroyed three cities."

At that moment, an alarm suddenly sounded. "Warning! High-energy reaction approaching! Thor is—"

Before the voice could finish, a bolt of lightning split the sky and blasted straight through the laboratory's outer wall!

Through the smoke and dust, a tall figure slowly approached: Thor.

But most of his golden hair had fallen out, his skin was an unnatural bluish-gray, and Mjolnir was covered in dried blood.

"Roar!!!"

Zombie Thor let out a deafening roar, madness and hunger flashing in his single eye.

Golden light flashed in Xiao Han's eyes. "Asgardian, it's time for you to rest."

He broke the sound barrier in an instant and drove a fist into Thor's chest!

Zombie Thor did not even have time to react before a huge hole was blasted through his chest, rotting organs spraying everywhere.

Xiao Han did not stop. His Heat Vision precisely severed Thor's cervical spine. Even as the head rolled to the ground, its mouth still opened and closed futilely.

The entire process took less than 0.3 seconds.

"Threat... eliminated?"

JARVIS's voice held obvious shock. "You eliminated Thor."

Xiao Han shook the rotten flesh from his hand. "He isn't Thor anymore."

He turned toward Tony in the armor. Before using his Super Brain, he wanted to see whether JARVIS had a solution.

"Can you develop a cure?"

JARVIS answered swiftly, regret in his voice. "I'm sorry, sir. I have simulated it countless times, but I cannot find substitute materials for the cure, nor a method to remove the virus."

"I understand. Tell me where the Fantastic Four laboratory is."

"Baxter Building, but Reed has already turned it into—"

"I know the risk," Xiao Han interrupted. "Tony's files mentioned a vaccine."

Zombie Tony inside the armor suddenly began struggling violently, and the mechanical arms shrieked as metal warped.

JARVIS immediately activated the backup power. "The restraint system is about to fail!"

Xiao Han walked up to the armor and met Tony's rotting eyes. "Hold on, Tony. I'll end all of this."

A rattling sound came from Zombie Tony's throat, yet he managed to force out a complete sentence. "Reed... still has... his sanity... be careful..."

The instant he finished speaking, the restraints finally broke apart! Zombie Tony lunged at Xiao Han, only to be stopped half a meter away by an invisible Biofield.

"Good night, Tony," Xiao Han said softly, waving a hand to cast a spell.

The spell created an illusion in Tony's mind. He would believe that he was already dead.

Then his body stiffened for a second before slowly collapsing, finally gaining a brief rest.

The laboratory fell into dead silence, broken only by the occasional sparks bursting from damaged wires.

"Has he... gone, sir?" JARVIS asked quietly.

Xiao Han nodded. "Not dead, but he needs to sleep for a while."

"Are you truly going to Baxter Building? That is the source of the infection."

Xiao Han had already walked toward the shattered window. Golden patterns on his black armor flickered in the light. "Someone has to clean up this mess."

He opened a golden portal with a wave of his hand, then glanced back at the devastated laboratory. "Want to come along, JARVIS?"

"Mr. Xiao, according to my analysis, your watch was developed by Tony from another universe. It contains my core program, so I will follow you through it."

JARVIS's voice came from the wreckage of the armor. "Perhaps... this time, we can save something."

Xiao Han smiled faintly and stepped into the portal.

The golden sparks slowly faded behind him, leaving only a room full of silence.